LSU has all fixable errors
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LSU’s winning streak came to an end before an enthusiastic crowd at The Swamp on Saturday.
There was no sixth consecutive victory for the Tigers as the Gators scored fourth-quarter touchdowns on each side of the ball to notch a 27-19 victory.
Trailing 19-14, Florida went ahead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Lamical Perine. A 15-yard throwback pass from backup tight end Lucas Krull to quarterback Feleipe Franks set up the go-ahead score. Then, Brad Stewart intercepted a Joe Burrow pass and returned the ball 25 yards for the clinching touchdown.
The results week in and week out in the Southeastern Conference are hard to predict. LSU was able to rally for a victory at Auburn on Cole Tracy’s last-play field goal. The Tigers were unable to get Tracy in the same position at Florida.
“The Florida crowd was electric,” said LSU coach Ed Orgeron at his weekly media luncheon Monday. “There was a homefield advantage. There are great athletes at every school, particularly in the SEC. Anybody can win each week.
“You have 18 to 22-year-olds. Sometimes, they are up. Sometimes, they are not. They make mistakes sometimes. We had a chance to win the game and the players know it. We beat ourselves in a lot of areas. There are a lot of things which are correctable. We can’t hold on to this loss for a long time.”
There were two parts of the game which bothered Orgeron. First, the Tigers lost the turnover battle. LSU had three turnovers as compared to one for Florida. Then, the Gators registered 11 tackles-for-loss – including five sacks. LSU had only two tackles-for-loss and no sacks.
Burrow was responsible for all three turnovers – a lost fumble following a blind-side sack and two late interceptions. Burrow has now lost a fumble while being sacked in each of the last three games.
“The turnovers are very frustrating,” Orgeron said. “It takes 11 (players) to protect the ball. That first sack and fumble was devastating to the team. (Offensive coordinator) Steve (Ensminger) felt that Joe got rattled a little bit. I told Steve, ‘I would have been rattled too.’ Joe was running for his life.
“We have to quit shooting ourselves in the foot on offense. We cannot have penalties end drives. You get one or two sacks on a series and it’s hard to score. Then, Florida has 11 tackles-for-loss. We must eliminate the negative play. There were a lot of technical issues for us.”
While Florida’s front seven was making plays behind the line of scrimmage, LSU defenders were not able to duplicate that feat. The Tigers had nine quarterback-hurries, but they never sacked Franks.
“We didn’t have sacks, but we had some pressure,” Orgeron said. “That it not good enough. We had several chances to make sacks and we missed them. We also missed some tackles-for-loss. We have to create more (tackles-for-loss) by slanting. We gave up 215 yards rushing and that’s a negative.”
Since LSU lost to an Eastern Division team, it still controls its destiny in the SEC West. However, the next three opponents are very challenging – No. 2 Georgia, No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 1 Alabama. At least, all three games will be played in Tiger Stadium.
“We will digest (Florida loss), but not overlook it,” Orgeron said. “We will forget about the defeat. That will be hard. We will show the players situations where we didn’t play as good as we should. I have received calls from several players wanting to know what my message to the team.
“We are 5-1 and proud of it. We have made great strides. We look at it as one game at a time. We don’t talk about (being in control of our destiny). We have a very hectic schedule. I try to be the same every week – after a win or a loss. We need to pay attention to detail.”
Orgeron had no good news regarding starting left guard Garrett Brumfield. Orgeron said that Brumfield, who was injured in the Louisiana Tech game, will not play against Georgia. He is hopeful Brumfield can return against Mississippi State. Orgeron said that linebacker Jacob Phillips should practice Monday.
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